Our Explorer™ and Trooper® Digital Video Recorder (DVR) systems and Scout™ VCR system have many features not offered by any other system on the market. Seon Design is leading the industry in research and development of solutions that directly benefit the customers. And we aim to make those features – like Smart-Temp – standard on all of our system models.

Superior Reliability

Seon Design is working to ensure that whenever you are on the road our system is working for you. Smart-Temp continuously monitors the internal temperature of the VCRs and DVRs to ensure they are operating in a safe environment. If temperatures drop below an optimum level, internal heaters turn on to make sure prime conditions are maintained. If the temperatures surpass safe levels, the Trooper and Explorer systems will automatically turn on a fan to reduce the temperature quickly.

Without Smart-Temp System Protection

If such a system is not in place you can risk losing important information or never recording it to begin with. As the temperature drops VCR systems without Smart-Temp can run a series of risks. Videotape can become brittle as it gets cold – if a system tries to record immediately without warming the tape can break. The drums can freeze preventing the tape from turning at all. The recorder could miss the bus' entire route.

A DVR system without Smart-Temp can suffer a similar fate. In low temperatures a DVR sometimes cannot spin its disk to record or the write arm can freeze to the disk itself. Similarly to VCR systems without Smart-Temp, at low temperatures digital systems without it can move out of record mode to protect the system but will not switch back to record, unless manually changed or powered-off – even if the temperature returns to a safe range.

Tested For You

Like all of our technology – tested time and time again – the Smart-Temp was put through its paces. At Seon's in-house Research and Development Department engineers evaluate all aspects of design. For Smart-Temp this testing involves an Environmental Testing Chamber. Units are placed inside and hooked up to the cables they require and run as per normal. Temperatures are regulated so data can be recorded and used to improve Smart-Temp in the future. Temperatures can be adjusted from –99°F to 375°F (-73°C to +175°C). While such extremes aren't used in testing, Seon aims to go above and beyond what is the normal range of use to make sure our DVR and VCR units are working whenever your buses are.

Continuous Monitoring

The Seon Smart-Temp continuously monitors the internal temperature of the DVR. As the temperature dips below 40°F it will turn on its internal heater and pulse the system fan to circulate the warmer air. This will continue until the optimum temperature is reached, all the while continuously recording. Whenever the heater is activated the red Voltage/Temperature lamp on the back of the DVR will flash to indicate the temperature is low.

If the recorder has an extremely low temperature – below –5°F – when the bus is turned on, the Smart-Temp system will not power the DVR. Instead it will heat the system until it reaches a functional temperature then power up the DVR completely. Again the red Voltage/Temperature lamp on the back of the DVR will flash to indicate the temperature is too low. At any time the hard drive can be removed from the DVR.

Similar precautions are taken by Smart-Temp for our Scout VCR system. If the temperature drops below 37°F the VCR will power up but will not pull the tape through its mechanisms. The videotape can be ejected at this time – however, it isn't recommended to insert a video tape until the system has reached 41°F.This will allow the VCR to warm up. Once the temperature surpasses 41°F it will begin recording as normal. If temperatures drop below 5°F, the VCR will not power at all to further protect the videotape. To eject a tape at this temperature, the VCR must be removed and brought to a location warmer than 5°F. These Smart-Temp safe recording measures ensure that your videotape is always used under optimum recording conditions to promote your videotapes' longevity.